Saxony boys soccer team's season ends in Class 1 quarterfinals

The Saxony Lutheran soccer team had all the momentum heading into halftime of a Class 1 quarterfinal against Crossroads on Saturday at Washington University in St. Louis.

With a little over a minute to play before the break in a scoreless game, Jacob Wunderlich took a shot from the 18-yard mark, which was deflected by the Crossroads goalie. Freshman Jakota Walther sprinted into the box and one-timed a rebound into the top right corner to give the Crusaders a 1-0 lead.

"That's something that we've struggled with," Saxony coach Max Wieser said. "When the ball is in the box we sometimes don't even react to it, we just let it go. We had a couple guys do it there and Jakota came in to finish it."

Saxony (5-19-1) couldn't make that lead hold in the second half and lost 2-1 to Crossroads (10-7-1).

Crossroads came out fast and strong, scoring less than two minutes into the second half. Weiser said there was a breakdown in communication and his players were out of position.

"I think it was a little communication mishap, but it was also guys not knowing where they were supposed to be," Weiser said. "We always struggle right at the beginning of a half. They haven't always filtered down into their positions and that throws us off because we're not always sure where to be."

Despite Saxony's defensive struggles in the second half, Weiser said freshman Isaac Scheper stepped up big for the Crusaders in the defensive sweeper position.

"Being a freshman, he was not afraid to make any plays, and I can't think of many mistakes that he made," Weiser said. "I can't think of one thing he didn't do well. He cleared every ball that came his way."

Saxony had five shots on goal in the last eight minutes. Weiser said many of those shots could have gone in, but their shots were either off line or not kicked with enough force.

Crossroads also had a lot of late chances. Weiser said the Current would have scored earlier if not for Saxony goalie Jacob Stueve. Stueve had 14 saves and saved five straight shot attempts by the Current in the final eight minutes.

"I think some of our shots were kind of floated instead of driven, which made it easier on the goalkeeper," Weiser said. "I think we also had some shots at the 18 that we didn't take. We tried to drive around a few more defenders instead of taking our chances and ripping it right then and there. That way you maybe get a corner or just see where the deflection goes."

With 4:47 to play, Crossroads scored its second goal of the game, ending the Crusaders hopes of making it to their first-ever final four appearance.

"We were in position to win it with five minutes to go, just as much as Crossroads was," Weiser said. "I told them, 'There's nothing you can get down about,' because it wasn't like we made any big mistakes. We just got outplayed."

Saxony will lose just three seniors to graduation. Weiser has a bright outlook for the future and said he was proud of the way his team played despite the loss.

"I know a lot of people wrote us off and said we couldn't compete with Crossroads, who was a little bit bigger and stronger than us," Weiser said. "But our last game was our best game, and I truly do believe that. The only thing my three seniors wanted was to win this game and we didn't get there, but our lower classes are growing and we have a lot to build off of."